Early Big 12 odds: Oklahoma a clear favorite; Texas destined to be a middle-of-the-pack team again?

This Story is About...

Share This Story On...

Longhorns coach Tom Herman, left, shakes hands with Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley before the Oklahoma University Sooners vs. the University of Texas Longhorns NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday, October 14, 2017. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)

-- Oklahoma on top: The two-time defending Big 12 champion Sooners (who locked up both the regular season and championship game titles last season) appear to be the clear favorites to reclaim the throne this fall. Their over/under is 10.5 wins -- two full wins over their closest competitor: in-state rival Oklahoma State.

-- Baylor, Texas Tech to flirt with bowl eligibility: If the 2018 season plays out the way the odds project (and keep in mind that betting odds aren't necessarily designed to be predictive measures of how the season goes, but rather, a way to get maximized action and profit for the sportsbook), both Baylor and Texas Tech will be battling to become bowl eligible. Texas Tech has an over/under of 5.5 wins while Baylor's number is 5. Bowl eligibility or near-bowl eligibility will almost assuredly mean very different things for two programs on different trajectories. Bowl eligibility (or coming up just short) could be a sign of progress in Year 2 of the Matt Rhule era at Baylor. On the other hand, landing in that same general area would not be as well received in Lubbock for Texas Tech, and it could mean the end for Kliff Kingsbury.